Guitar Lessons
by FifiDoll
Summary: Companion to the episode Rumours. Finn needs to learn guitar to accompany Artie's performance and is having difficulties with it. Puck helps him out.


**Guitar Lessons**

Finn sat in Puck's room, a dark guitar strewn about his lap. "I don't get why I have to learn guitar," Finn said, frustrated. He stared over at it like it was the devil reincarnate as he grumbled, "I suck at it and there are plenty of other guys that can play it."

"Dude, it's a nine part guitar arrangement," Puck pointed out. "We only know six other guitar players besides me and Sam. We need you, dude. They're easy chords."

"If they were easy I'd know them by now," Finn shot.

They'd been practicing for the better part of two hours; Finn's fingertips were raw and he'd lost the pick in the body of the guitar once already. Puck was trying, but it was getting very difficult not to lash out at Finn. He knew that deep down Finn was smart, especially when it came to music, but he just wasn't _trying_.

See, Puck had two methods to teaching guitar. The method he used on his sister (which he was currently using on Finn), and the method he used on the ladies. He'd tried everything; showing Finn diagrams of chords, placing his fingers on the strings and letting him move them, but it wasn't working. Puck even gave Finn his sister's guitar because it was smaller than his own. He _really_ didn't think Finn would go for it, but Puck had one more idea. "Just…give me one last chance to try to teach it to you. If you don't get it after that, we'll find someone else," Puck pleaded.

Finn sighed and looked like he would rather say no but, but he nodded anyway. "Okay, get up," Puck instructed.

Confused, Finn stood and watched as Puck stood and held out his sister's guitar to Finn. Slowly Finn slung the strap around his body and held the guitar awkwardly. Puck stepped behind him and said, his voice lower than usual, "You have to relax."

"How am I supposed to relax with you standing like that behind me?" Finn asked, his muscles tense as Puck stood so close he could feel warm breath on the back of his shirt. "It's weird, dude…"

"Finn, seriously, just relax," Puck insisted, his hands resting on Finn's upper arms.

His touch was strange to Finn – they'd never gone past fist bumps or the usual football contact - now Puck was touching him so much more intimately, it seemed. It was weird, but Finn didn't feel the world crumbling around him with cacophonous calls of "GAY! GAY! GAY!" so he figured it was all pretty okay. Puck felt the strong muscles under his hands relaxing and had to admit he was a little surprised at how easy it was to calm Finn down, considering Puck was using his "get the ladies" method. "Now," he continued, trying to keep the confidence in his voice. "Find the first chord."

Finn's fingers fumbled below the capo on the neck of the guitar, searching for the strings. He felt so lame for looking down, and when he did, he was surprised to find Puck's fingers close to his own. "It's all about the muscle memory," Puck told him, curling his fingers to meet Finn's, pressing them against the strings.

It should have been weird and gay that Puck was touching him like that, but Finn didn't really feel that way about the whole situation. It was nice, actually, and a little soothing, as weird as that sounded. He stayed relaxed as Puck's fingers pressed his own to the strings of the guitar. "Now you just gotta stay relaxed," Puck instructed, his voice calm and close to Finn's ear.

Finn let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and nodded. "Now just strum," Puck told him, placing Finn's other hand over the strings.

Finn did as he was told, and a loud, rough chord emitted from the guitar. "Not so rough," Puck said instantly, his hand resting over Finn's instinctively. "Hold the pick loosely and let it kind of bend with the movement."

With another nod, Finn strummed and the sound was much more pleasing to the ears. Puck had Finn strum a few rhythms, all of which he did perfectly (now that he was relaxed). "Now try switching to the next chord," he said.

Finn's face contorted in concentration as he did the strumming pattern on one chord, then switched to the next. The transition was sloppy and slow and h he sighed in frustration. "No, dude, that wasn't that bad," Puck insisted. "You just have to move between them…over and over again, you know? Like muscle memory."

They kept up like that through all of the chords until Finn was playing pretty well. The transitions were still kind of sloppy, but under the other eight guitars, nobody would really hear it. "See, dude? No problem." Puck told him, finally stepping away from Finn.

Finn's skin was cold where Puck's hands used to be and he let out an embarrassing whimper that he hoped Puck hadn't heard. Puck looked up quickly, shocked, and Finn's stomach dropped. He _had_ heard, which meant Finn was about to get picked on. "Dude, I'm with Lauren," was all Puck said.

Finn looked over at Puck, surprised that he wasn't flipping shit or something. "I'm with Quinn," Finn shrugged.

Puck sighed and said, "I don't know what you want from me."

"I don't know either, dude…" Finn said nervously, his eyes darting around the room.

"So…" Puck trailed off slowly. "We're good?"

Finn just nodded, "Yeah."

"And you're good to play guitar for the assignment tomorrow?"

The corner of Finn's mouth upturned in a smile and he said, "Yeah, I'll do it."

"Sweet," Puck smiled.

He held out his fist and Finn gave it a bump before turning back to the guitar. Puck pulled out his own and in no time they were strumming the song together at tempo.


End file.
